We haven’t got long with the R8 GT and I seem to be having one of those Wednesday mornings. Every road in Oxfordshire that I try seems to be choked with slow-moving vehicles intent on holding me up every time we reach a perfect set of bends. Even the local hunt conspires against me at one point, and I thought they only played ‘catch the brush’ at the weekends. Obviously I can dispatch whole lines of traffic and buy myself some clear tarmac as soon as any sort of straight appears, but it never seems to be more than 60 seconds before I find myself staring at the rear doors of another trundling Ocado van.

And then, during one of my few unshackled minute waltzes with the GT, I glance at the speedo. It’s numbered for kph so I hadn’t really been paying much attention because all the numbers are big when they’re in Ks and not Ms per hour. But after a bit of bead-clacking on the mental abacus it dawns on me that the numbers would still be uncomfortably big if this was a UK-calibrated speedo. It sends a slight shiver down my spine and I slow down. Yes, those sorts of big numbers.

In keeping with the theme of the issue, this is the fastest ever road-going Audi, with a top speed of 199mph (almost but not quite stealing Lamborghini’s thunder). It’s pretty damn brisk off the line too, hitting 62mph in a claimed 3.6sec, some 0.3sec quicker than a standard R8 V10. The improvements are down to the GT’s slightly stronger engine and the serious diet plan it has been subject to. Power is up by 34bhp and torque by 7lb ft, but it’s the weight savings that Audi is really keen to shout about. Bucket seats make the biggest contribution, saving 31.5kg, but lightweight carpets (yes, really) cut 7.9kg and thinner windscreen glass 9kg, while the carbonfibre bonnet, bumpers and side-blades remove 6.6kg, 5.2kg and 1.2kg respectively. The total weight loss is a very handy 100kg.

The first thing you notice when driving the GT, however, is not the weight savings but the suspension changes. No, that’s a lie actually. The first thing you notice is the steering wheel covered in Alcantara so soft that if you were a child you’d want to use it as a comfort blanket. Then the second thing you notice, if you paid for it, is the optional Race package, because it furnishes the bucket seats with four-point harnesses that need to be gathered and clicked together above your navel. The pack also includes a half roll-cage behind the seats, a fire extinguisher and internal and external battery cut-out switches (the internal one delightfully hidden in a pot in a cup-holder).

Anyway, perhaps the third or fourth thing you notice is that the new coilover suspension is noticeably firmer. You now feel every lump, bump and pimple, but with the edges rounded off so that it’s never a harsh or crashy sensation, which is impressive. The only time it really struggles is if you hit larger imperfections at speed, when the reduced travel and stiffer set-up can leave you momentarily in less contact with the road and more acutely aware of the mid-engined weight balance than you would ideally like. On the other hand, the GT is undoubtedly slightly fleeter of foot than a regular R8 V10, and I have no doubt that it would be quicker around any given circuit.

Further optimising those lap times is the R-tronic automated manual gearbox, the only transmission option on the 333 GTs being built. It seems slightly strange having a single rather than a dual-clutch gearbox in an Audi, but it works well. Like all such systems, it needs a slight lift of the throttle to smooth the shifts when you’re not in maximum-attack mode, but judging this just right can actually be quite enjoyable and (no pun intended) engaging.

But the truth is you miss the brilliant open-gate manual. It has been such an integral part of the enjoyment of all the R8s we’ve driven and it seems wrong that what should be the most involving R8 of them all requires you to do no more than squeeze two buttons shaped like little paddles on the back of the steering wheel to change gear.

Which brings me back to my rapidly slowing (thanks to the eye-popping optional carbon-ceramic brakes) journey across the Oxfordshire countryside. I think the reason I found myself going so fast was that I was chasing that moment when I hoped the R8 GT would come alive, show me its teeth and wow me. I’d tried pressing the Sport button but that hadn’t done much, so going faster was the only option. The GT certainly looks the part with its carbonfibre addenda but, at everyday speeds, firmer ride aside, you could be driving any other R8. The steering isn’t brimming with noticeably more feel, the V10 doesn’t have any added menace or bark, and with R-tronic there’s not even much point in going up and down the gearbox just for fun. Despite all the posturing about weight saving, perhaps it says a lot about the car and who it’s aimed at that the sat-nav and stereo both come as standard.

It is still a stunning car. The pace from that V10 is incredibly addictive and the clinical way the chassis allows you to dissect a corner is utterly absorbing. What’s more, I love the way that the quattro four-wheel drive gives you a feeling of security yet allows you all the adjustability and, space permitting, oversteer you could want. But the standard car really already gives you all of that and I was hoping that the GT would be noticeably different to a standard R8 in the same way that a GT3 is noticeably more thrilling and edgy than a standard 911. Instead it has become faster and firmer, but no more involving. A great car but perhaps a missed opportunity.